Nine people, arrested on claims of aiding Iranian spies in the eastern province of Iğdır, have been taken to the neighboring province of Erzurum and sent to the city’s courthouse.

A group who took the photos of places such as the Governor’s Office, the National Intelligence Agency (MİT), and the Police Office in Iğdır, were arrested last year. Now, a group of nine others have been detained on claims of aiding and abetting them.

It is claimed that they formed an organization in order to obtain information about the state’s security and spied for Iran. Following searches conducted in the houses and workplaces of the suspects, a number of documents, visual records of the security units on the border, an automatic Kalashnikov rifle, and shotguns were found. The nine detained suspects were sent to Erzurum Courthouse after being questioned in Iğdır.

“After being appointed to Iğdır, we saw that circumstances had matured, so we started an operation,” Iğdır Governor Ahmet Pek said about the incident.